London Buses route 52
| London Buses route 52 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Willesden and Victoria, it is operated by Metroline. History Route 52 began in the 1930s, running from Victoria to Mill Hill, and on to Borehamwood on Monday to Saturday peak journeys. The Borehamwood terminus changed several times: in 1951, it was withdrawn from Warwick Road and Drayton Road to Elstree Way Hotel, but extended back on 3 February 1953, and further extended to Brook Road on 3 February 1954. Another extension took the route to Rossington Avenue on Sundays from 1956. Seven years later this was extended to include Monday to Friday peak workings. In 1967 the Mill Hill terminus was changed from Mill Hill Green Man to the then new Mill Hill Broadway Station. The route was then withdrawn beyond Mill Hill Broadway in 1969, the Borehamwood - Mill Hill section being replaced by route 292. Frequency cuts led to over 2000 passengers signing a petition for the improvement of route 52 in the same year. Route 52 remained stable as a trunk route from Victoria - Mill Hill Broadway until 1992, when it was curtailed at Willesden to only run Victoria - Willesden. The northern end of the route was replaced by route 302 originally ran between Ladbroke Grove and Mill Hill. An extension from Ladbroke Grove to Notting Hill came in 1993, but in 1998 the southern end was cut back to Kensal Rise. The 52 has continued since that time to run Willesden - Victoria. In December 1993 the contract to run the route was won by London Coaches, who in July 1994 transferred the route to its Atlas Bus & Coach subsidiary as it had a garage in Willesden, close to the route's terminus. Atlas operated the route with Leyland Titans in a route-specific livery. In November 1994, route 52 was included in the sale of Atlas Bus & Coach to Metroline. Metroline have retained the contract ever since, and now operate the route with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs and Volvo B5LHs. On 25 January 1997, the Leyland Titans were replaced by Alexander RH bodied Volvo Olympians. On 1 January 2001, the route was converted to low floor using Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs. During the annual Notting Hill Carnival, the route was operated by Metroline's AEC Routemasters that normally operated on routes 6 and 98. This last occurred in 2003. On 8 December 2012, the route was retained by Metroline and was converted to a 24-hour service. In February 2013, the Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs were replaced by brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs and Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs. In June 2017, the Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs and the Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs were replaced by brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LHs. On 7 December 2019, the route was retained by Metroline. Current Route *Willesden Bus Garage *Kensal Rise Station *Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury's *Ladbroke Grove Station *Notting Hill Gate Station *Kensington Church Street for High Street Kensington Station *Royal Albert Hall *Knightsbridge Station *Knightsbridge *Hyde Park Corner Station *Victoria Bus Station External links *London Bus Routes Gallery *Full Timetable (PDF) 052, London Buses routes